About this project

$20,544

pledged of $20,000 goal

203

backers

Introducing Poketti™ Plushies with a Pocket™

Designed by 13-year old Sydney Loew, Poketti are irresistibly cute, 7.5" square plush animal pillows made with the highest quality materials and care. Our Series1 collection includes Sydney the Penguin, Toni the Bunny, Roxi the Kitty and Baxter the Puppy — each with a sweet and useful pocket on the back in contrasting cotton fabric.

The 4x5" back pocket with signature Poketti tab is made with cotton fabric and lined with plush.

We are excited to launch our new company with Kickstarter to help us raise money for our first round of manufacturing. To make these a reality, we need lots of help, so please share our project with your friends!

Poketti Series1 includes Sydney the Penguin, Toni the Bunny, Baxter the Puppy and Roxi the Kitty.

A Family Affair. The true heart of Poketti comes from our daughters, Sydney (age 13) and Toni (age 11). Sydney designed the characters, and Toni helped bring their personalities to life.

We've tested the product out and about...everyone loves them!

My husband, Chris, and I have a background in industrial design and graphic design, but we've never created a product of our own. So, when Sydney was inspired by her entrepreneurial project at The Girls' Middle School, we decided to turn her simple and iconic designs into a real business. We're all learning new things through this venture, but the best part of Poketti is spending time together as a family working creatively toward a common goal.

Sydney designed the Poketti characters and we worked together to find the right mix of fabrics. Narrowing the animals down to four was the hard part!

Form + Function. Job one was to make our plush toys irresistibly cute. We've seen grown men go weak for the penguin (though they still wouldn't give us a business loan, ha!), but the true magic is the functional patch pocket on the back. It's made from carefully selected 100% cotton material with a plush lining to keep your little treasures safe and easy to find.

Our back pocket, with a signature Poketti tab, is 4x5 inches and can store your cell phone, eyeglasses, small TV remote, jewelry, special notes, EpiPen, tooth fairy offerings...and of course, a Poketti notebook to capture those late-night strokes of genius. Just keep one of these little guys near your bed and you'll never go hunting for something to write on again.

Cute, yes, but they also have a functional back pocket to hold your stuff.

The 4x5" back pocket will hold a Poketti notebook or one of your own.

Because Poketti characters will always translate to graphical icons, we can explore accessories such as the companion notebook we are offering as a Kickstarter reward. We are excited by the prospect of further developing our characters and their distinct personalities, similar to the Japanese line Rilakkuma, or even Hello Kitty.

Series1 Poketti Characters: Sydney, Toni, Baxter and Roxi

Our Kickstarter reward includes a Poketti Notebook (in development) that fits inside the back pocket.

We need your help! We are seeking funds and early support for our first manufacturing order, including safety testing for our plush toys, which will be conducted by Bureau Veritas. Ordering in larger quantities makes sense from a manufacturing and shipping standpoint, specifically to keep our unit cost down and to have enough inventory while we build up our distribution channels.

Considering the sizable cost of our first order, we're hoping that you'll share our project with your friends so we can exceed our goal. Investing in us now is basically pre-ordering a Poketti Plushie —so there's definitely something special in it for you, too!

Giving Back. Along with teaching our daughters to be money-grubbing tycoons ;-), we are also committed to using Poketti in more important ways. We intend to share Poketti smiles and utility with children's hospitals, and a portion of our proceeds will benefit institutions such as the ASPCA who provide comfort to Poketti's real-life counterparts.

Risks and challenges

We looked into making our product in America, but quickly learned that China is the only viable place for stuffed toy manufacturing. We selected an experienced Chicago-based partner to work with us: Dennis at RB Toy. He has been an invaluable mentor, teaching us about the stuffed toy business and acting as liaison with his trusted Chinese factory (which also produces products for Unicef). They have jumped through hoops to help develop these four prototypes to our very precise specifications. The challenge was marrying "plush" with "apparel" fabric, something that is not commonly done in large scale stuffed toy manufacturing.

Our risk lies mainly in inventory management and the cost of manufacturing on such a large scale. The 90-day manufacturing cycle means we need to order higher quantities, and while we welcome the lower unit cost, it requires a large outlay of cash. Which is why we are turning to Kickstarter. With this Kickstarter project, we can raise funds for the order and get early interest in our products...and when the Poketti Plushies arrive in 90 days, many of them will already have a home!

Beyond your investment, we would love your input on where our Poketti Plushes would best be sold. We are currently strategizing our distribution plan and looking for suitable retail outlets so if you have any ideas, please let us know!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

Get the first edition Poketti "Pocketful of Dreams" Notebook. This full-color notebook fits inside the back pocket of your Poketti Plushie, so it's always close by to jot down your thoughts, doodles and wish lists.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

Toni the Bunny: want a best friend? This reward gets you our soft and luxurious white plush bunny pillow with pink and brown embroidery and small polka dot cotton detail fabric on her floppy ears and back pocket, with signature Poketti tab.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

Baxter the Puppy: want to play? Choose this reward because he is ready for fun (or a nice spot on your bed). Soft and luxurious two-toned brown plush with plaid cotton detail fabric on his gigantic ears and back pocket, with signature Poketti tab. His big green and brown embroidered eyes are irresistible.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

Roxi the Kitty: want to shop? Pick this reward and hit the town with our soft and luxurious gray plush pillow with bright orange polka dot cotton detail fabric on her perky ears and back pocket, with signature Poketti tab. Her bright pink and orange embroidered eyes are totally adorbs.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $40 or more
About $40

Poketti Pack! Get a Poketti Plushie of your choice plus a Poketti notebook and stickers! Choose from Sydney the Penguin, Toni the Bunny, Roxi the Kitty and Baxter the Puppy. After we are funded, we'll send you an email so you can tell us which Poketti you like.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $90 or more
About $90

We'll send you the Series1 Collection: Sydney the Penguin, Toni the Bunny, Baxter the Puppy and Roxi the Kitty. Because we know it is impossible to decide...and this will help us even more to meet our goal!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Name a future Poketti Plushie! Pick from a list of future Series animals and you can name one! You'll receive an original sketch by Sydney of your character -- and we'll send you the Plushie when he or she is available. Of course we'll also send you the Series1 collection, notebook and stickers!).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

What's your favorite animal? Your idea will become a future Poketti Plushie animal and you'll NAME it! Please no Platypus or Narwhals! ;-) You'll receive an original sketch of your Poketti character by Sydney -- and we'll send you the Poketti Plushie when available. We're excited to hear from you -- and thank you for helping secure Poketti's future! (Of course you'll also receive Series1, notebook and stickers!).